South East Asia

TOKYO Japan's manufacturing activity contracted at the fastest pace in 30 months in February, a business survey showed on Tuesday, in a worrying sign for the world's third-largest economy, which is facing weakening demand and struggling to tame co...

The connectivity service of Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is set to be available in Boracay, supporting the economy of one of the country's top tourist destinations. In a statement on Monday, the listed company announced that residents would be able to ...

Music serves as a vehicle for social change with its power to emotionally, morally, and culturally affect society. Political expressions always had their place in music as artists often use their creative talents to send message on social issues. Original...

CEBU CITY—How to inspire Cebuanos to support the city's aspirations to become like Singapore? Build the city-state's most famous mascot—the Merlion. That is exactly what a restaurateur in Cebu City did. A merlion, a mythical creature w...

Manila Water Co. Inc. of the Razon Group has secured a P3-billion loan from Land Bank of the Philippines to partially finance its capital spending. In a disclosure, Manila Water said it had signed a 10-year term loan facility with the state-run financial ...

BENGALURU The Bank of Korea will hold its base interest rate at 3.5 percent on Thursday and for the rest of this year, suggesting its longest tightening cycle on record is over despite still high inflation, a Reuters poll of economists found. After raisin...

It seems hard to believe now, but Filipinos on the average were twice richer than South Koreans back in 1965. Data from countryeconomy.com show average income (GDP per capita) in the Philippines then at $211, and $108 in South Korea. Our total GDP was $6,...

SINGAPORE The dollar was parked below recent peaks on Tuesday, as a three-week rally faded and traders waited on economic data to figure on whether it's warranted to push the dollar up any further. Strong U.S. labor data and sticky inflation have rais...

PARIS, France -Years after Facebook quietly removed a slogan that declared the site was "free and always will be", parent company Meta announced on Sunday a paid-for subscription service that has already been widely criticized. Meta is following a...

GENEVA, Switzerland -The World Trade Organization set sail Monday on a "second wave" of negotiations on fisheries subsidies, the new head of the talks announced, after months stuck on the rocks. The second stage is a follow-up to the historic agre...

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — The Bohol Provincial government through the Bohol Provincial Environment Management Office (BPEMO) is currently caring for 100 giant clams which they seeded on Oct. 19, 2022. The clams are located at the Sta. Fe Marine Sanctuary...

SYDNEY/HONG KONG -New rules laying out how Chinese companies can list outside mainland China will often mean getting a nod from several domestic government agencies, potentially making for a lengthy approval process, investment bankers say. On one hand, t...

LONDON -Facebook on Monday temporarily fought off a collective lawsuit valued at up to 3 billion pounds ($3.7 billion) over allegations the social media giant abused its dominant position to monetize users' personal data. However, a London tribunal ga...

Prices of everyday basics like Bounty paper towels and Cadbury chocolate may rise again this year while those of others like Clorox Co wipes and Diet Pepsi are likely to stay steady, as manufacturers make differing bets on the strength of the consumer and...

ANTAKYA, Turkey — Turkey stepped up work to clear away rubble from collapsed buildings on Monday, as rescue work wound down two weeks after major earthquakes killed more than 46,000 people in southern Turkey and northwest Syria. Turkey's Disaste...

Coco Martin might be known for being strictly tight-lipped about his private life, but he appeared to have confirmed that he's in a relationship with a mysterious longtime girlfriend. In an interview with broadcast journalist Karen Davila, the "FP...

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) is eyeing to help the country in its food production security through the use of modern farm tools and the persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) as farm workers. BuCor acting Director General Gregor...

Taxing the rich has become quite a controversial topic in recent months. The issue of a tax on wealth as well as a tax on luxury items has been the subject of much debate among policymakers, economists, and pretty much anyone in the know. The idea of taxi...

For the first time in seven months, the Philippines rebuilt its foreign exchange reserves back to the crucial $100-billion level at end-January, as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) replenished the ammunition earlier deployed to curb local currency vo...

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expected to continue raising its benchmark rate to a peak of 6.5 percent by the end of the first half of the year in a bid to rein in accelerating inflation, according to Fitch Solutions. "Beyond that, however,...

A big law firm that has attracted the attention of large corporate clients in recent years—due, no doubt, to its ability to deliver optimal results for its clients —is about to get bigger, if the rumors on the street are true. Biz Buzz heard t...

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) threw its support behind local conglomerates potentially taking over the operations and maintenance of the Edsa Busway system, a major transportation service traversing Metro Manila's busiest thoroughfare. Mark ...

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is set to inaugurate next month three port projects—in Masbate, Palawan and Oriental Mindoro—as it prepares for the expected growth in passenger traffic with the further reopening of the economy. The Masbat...

Philippine garment exporters will join the worldwide campaign to modernize clothing labels, a move that will phase out physical labels in favor of digital marks and pare down production cost. Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (Fobap) president...

Local stocks struggled anew on Monday as the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped below a critical support while investors remained cautious ahead of new data from the US Federal Reserve. By the closing bell, the PSEi shed 0.51 percent...

The business of business is not just making profits but also uplifting the lives of people. Ramon del Rosario Jr., chair and CEO of Phinma Corp., a conglomerate that has interests in education, construction materials, property development and hospitality ...

In general, sharing is good. Sometimes, it can be fatal. A man and his friend died on Tuesday in the southern Indian city of Chennai after sharing a drink laced with poison by the man's wife. The wife, identified in a report by The Times of India as K...

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) world minimumweight champion Melvin "Gringo" Jerusalem got a much-needed motivation ahead of his title defense after being named the "Boxer of the Month" by the Ga...

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police continue to investigate the Feb. 18 killing of a policeman and a jail officer, and the wounding of a 53-year-old woman in Barangay Tinago in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental. Police Lieutenant Colonel Kym Vadillo Lopez, ...

MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Monday warned the International Criminal Court (ICC) not to "monkey around with our legal system." Remulla maintained that there is no mechanism in the Rome Statute by which the ...

CEBU CITY, Philippines—The University of San Carlos (USC) has the lead in the team standings after the first weekend of games of the Cebu Flag Football League (CFFL) Inter-Collegiate Season 7 tournament held at the Cebu City Sports Center. USC has 7...

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu—The Municipality of Cordova launched on Monday, February 20, 2023, the Getting Unified Youth Outdoor Development (GUYOD). GUYOD is an Alternative Learning System (ALS) Mobile Learning Hub. The GUYOD was launched during the flag-...

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Philippines — Some 161 workers from the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) were retrenched from their jobs. This was confirmed by Kim Francisco, head of the Lapu-Lapu City Public Employment Service Office (PESO). The 161 workers ca...

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu—A total of 146 job seekers were hired on the spot during the job fair that was held at the Outlets in Pueblo Verde, Barangay Basak Lapu-Lapu City on Saturday, February 18, 2023. This was confirmed by Kim Francisco, head of the L...

CEBU CITY, Philippines—Maeng Viloria emerged as the top bowler in the Sugbuanon Bowlers United (SUGBU) Bowling Shootout on Sunday evening, February 19, 2023, at the SM Seaside City Cebu Bowling Center. Viloria, who finished third overall in the mixe...

SINGAPORE — Singaporean Edwin Toh, 36, has an interesting story to tell about how he ended up working for one of the world's leading technology companies. Mr Toh works as a user experience engineer for Google in New York. And no, he does not hav...

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily banned the importation of cattle and related products from The Netherlands and poultry products from Turkey. This is due to the reported outbreak of mad cow disease in The Netherlands and of avian influen...

Cebu City, Philippines—Confident of its new generation of vehicle lineup, Hyundai Motor Philippines, Inc. brought to Cebu the Stargazer multipurpose vehicle (MPV) and Creta subcompact crossover for a media drive event dubbed Hyundai Cebu Adventure h...

CEBU CITY, Philippines—Six more teams added wins in the Don Bosco Cebu Alumni Basketball League after emerging victorious in games held on Sunday evening, February 19, 2023, at the Don Bosco Gym in Punta Princesa. Batches 2009, 2006, 1999, 1997, 199...

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Policemen and concerned city government agencies in Cebu City will now do daily rescues of mendicants and mentally-disturbed individuals loitering the city's streets. Police Lieutenant Colonel Janette Rafter, deputy city...

BANGKOK Thai banks' non-performing loans stood at 2.73 percent of total lending at the end of December 2022, down from 2.77 percent at the end of September, helped by debt restructuring, the central bank said on Monday. The banking system remained str...

CEBU CITY, Philippines—Following their rousing start in the 3rd season of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP), the new look Toledo-Xignex Trojans look to extend their winning streak with two scheduled matches on Wednesday, F...

Sy-led property giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. said profits in 2022 soared to P30.1 billion as shopping mall revenues doubled after businesses and shoppers moved on from the COVID-19 pandemic. SM Prime said in a stock exchange filing on Monday profits were ...

Tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. sealed a second venture with Israel's LR Group, this time to invest nearly P1 billion in the construction of the country's biggest greenhouse facility in San Rafael, Bulacan. Dubbed M...

CEBU CITY, Philippines—- The Kalinangan Youth Foundation, Inc. (KALFI) plans to hold another fun run this year following its successful inaugural running event, "KALFIT Race to Fitness" last December at the Cebu Business Park. KALFIT Cebu Wo...

CEBU CITY, Philippines Police in the region noted a drop of crime rate in the region for the period February 12-18, 2023. The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) reported 61 crime incidents in the said period, which is a 14-percent drop comp...

SEOUL North Korea launched two more ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday, as the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un warned U.S. forces to halt military drills, saying the reclusive nuclear state could turn the Pacific into a "firing rang...

SINGAPORE -Oil prices rose on Monday amid optimism over China's demand recovery, concerns that underinvestment will crimp future oil supply and as major producers keep output limits in place. Brent crude rose 47 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $83.47 a barr...

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The complainant in an animal cruelty incident has decided not to pursue a case against a man who hurt her dog. Gina Lucido, the owner, said on Monday, February 20, 2023, that she withdrew the filing of a complaint against 23...

Popular online game Roblox is developing a tool to produce "generative AI materials from a text prompt," says its recent blog. Chief Technology Officer Daniel Sturman saw the rise of artificial intelligence as an "opportunity to revolutionize ...